Quiver

Quiver
by Playwrights’ Center Core Writer Meg Miroshnik
Former free-spirit Juju has a new husband, a new religious calling, and, now that she’s in labor, very nearly a new baby.

Not new? Juju’s dutiful teenage daughter, Morgan, an aspiring midwife. As Juju’s labor speeds up, a surprise visitor from their past arrives, forcing Juju and Morgan to wrestle with their conflicting visions of the future. Set inside the Christian Quiverfull movement (think TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting), Quiver is a story about family, faith, really long labors, and redemption.

FROM MEG: “This play is set in the Quiverfull movement, which is a strain of Christian fundamentalism that encourages families to have as many children as biologically possible. The play came at me from a bunch of different angles: In my guilty-pleasure reality TV watching, I was transfixed by the Duggar family of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting. And then as an intellectual curiosity, I started to notice some of the fringe views embraced by Quiverfull-adherents like Christian Dominionism popping up in mainstream conversations. From a personal perspective, I wanted to find a way to capture the long labors and childbirths I’d had in short succession in some kind of story. And, finally, there was an offhand comment. When I mused that I’d like to write a play in which the main character was in labor for the whole play, [PWC’s] Julia Brown said she’d like to see that play. And that little moment of encouragement was kind of the straw that tipped me over into writing!” Read an interview with Meg about the play »